Fighting Fear
by roguephoenix1
Summary: Final part of the Fear Trilogy. Sequel to Living with Fear. The birds reunite for a final showdown with the Joker.
1. Default Chapter

Fighting Fear  
  
Note: This story is the third and final part of what I've labeled the Fear Trilogy. It is the sequel to Rising Fear and Living with Fear (if you haven't read those I suggest you do before reading this. It would make the story make more sense).  
  
Disclaimer: You know the drill by now. These characters do not belong to me. They are the property of Warner Bros. and DC.  
  
Author's Note: As you know this is my last story. I started out writing this story to some how defy the WB for taking the show (which had so much unrealized potential) off the air. Plus, I had nothing better to do this summer. Unfortunately, the summer is over and I must start back at school. I would love to continue writing (I have so many story ideas), but I'm not sure how much time I will have (I have this huge history paper that will take up my entire semester). I hope to keep writing and maybe post something during breaks, but for now this is it. This is my finale. It's been a long ride. I hope everyone has enjoyed it as much as I have. Okay, enough of my rambling. Here's the story.  
  
Chapter 1  
  
Dinah sat at Delphi with Helena staring over her shoulder. It had been an hour since the alarm sounded. An hour since they had gotten their first word from Oracle in days. As far as they could tell, she had gotten her hands on a computer and was able to hack into the Delphi from her location. They had not actually had contact with her; all they had was a tracking signal that kept flashing on the screen in front of them. It was enough to let them know that she was still alive and hopefully would help them locate her.  
  
"What are we looking at, Dinah?" Helena asked, leaning over Dinah's shoulder even farther.  
  
"The location looks like an old office building. We're looking at one of Barbara's maps of the underground. She showed it to me when we first started searching for the Joker." Dinah said, recalling the day Barbara had showed her the map. She had explained that the earthquake that had occurred in Gotham years ago had entirely leveled the city. When New Gotham was built, much of it was built right on top of the old city, leaving almost an entire city below the streets. There were leveled buildings and roads forming an entire network of underground tunnels and shelters that were mostly used by the homeless and criminals of New Gotham. It was hard for Dinah to believe that it had been almost a month since she had that conversation with her mentor. It seemed like yesterday. Now, Barbara was gone. Taken by the Joker and being held somewhere in this vast underground.  
  
"I know that," Helena said exasperatedly, jolting Dinah from her thoughts, "but where exactly is it in relation to New Gotham. It's too bad we can't somehow overlap this map with a map of the city."  
  
Dinah snapped her fingers. "We can! Just give me a second." She began typing furiously. A few minutes later they were staring at a map of New Gotham.  
  
"Where did you learn that?"  
  
"Some of us actually pay attention during Oracle's computer lessons," Dinah smirked.  
  
"I pay attention." Helena said defensively. Dinah raised her eyebrows. "Okay, I don't pay attention, but I try. I can't help it if I find computers utterly pointless. I prefer to use my hands for more constructive things.like fighting."  
  
Dinah rolled her eyes and turned back to the computer screen. She pointed her finger to the flashing green dot that signified Barbara's position. "Okay, Barbara is here. Now if we look at the overlapping map of New Gotham." Dinah pushed a few keys and a red outlined map flashed on the screen.  
  
Helena pointed to the screen. "Isn't that the main subway terminal."  
  
Dinah nodded, "Yeah, you're right. So Barbara must be somewhere below the subway."  
  
"What is below the subway? Or, rather, what was there before the subway was. there? Er..yeah." Helena stumbled over her words. She was in total shock. This was the break they needed. This was the break she had been praying for. They were finally getting closer to finding Barbara.  
  
Dinah pushed a few more keys. "Before the earthquake, the terminal was actually the main office of Harry's Rubber Chicken Factory? You've got to be kidding." She looked to Helena.  
  
Helena pushed back from the computers. "That's it. That's where the Joker's been hiding out. There must be some sort of entrance in the subway." She grabbed her jacket and headed towards the elevator.  
  
"Where are you going?" Dinah asked, still not moving from the computers.  
  
"I'm going to rescue Barbara, duh. You coming or not?"  
  
Dinah stood up, but didn't move. "We can't just waltz in there and rescue Barbara. For all we know, it could be a trap. We need a plan."  
  
Helena sighed and walked back towards the computers. "You and your plans. You're starting to sound like Oracle, you know." Dinah glared at her. Helena put her hands up in defeat. "Okay, you win. Call Reese. I have an idea."  
  
Dinah nodded and moved towards the phone. Helena stared at the flashing dot on the screen. :Hold on Barbara. We're on our way.: 


	2. chapter 2

Chapter 2  
  
Helena and Dinah walked down the subway rail towards a small service door. After Dinah had insisted that they have a plan before trying to save Barbara, Helena had called Reese over to go over the maps they had. After triangulating Barbara's position, they had decided on their best course of action. There was a small service station just south of the subway terminal. Helena guessed that it had to be the entrance to the underground building that the Joker was using as his hide out. She had decided that it would best if Reese waited outside with a SWAT team while Helena and Dinah rescued Barbara. Helena wanted to be sure that Barbara was all right and out of the way, when the police stormed the area for the Joker. Reese had argued with her on that point. He believed that it would be best to storm the building in one sweep in hopes of creating enough confusion for the girls to rescue Barbara, but Helena thought it was too risky. With so many people there was bound to be a firefight and Helena didn't want to mess with any of that. She wanted to get in, get Barbara, and get out. And if she happened to come across the Joker and kill him in the process, well that would just be an added bonus. She kept that thought to herself, though.  
  
Helena and Dinah made it to the service station with ease. It was eleven o'clock and the last train had left thirty minutes ago. This gave them a forty-five minute window before the next train came barreling down the tracks. They hoped this would give them enough time to rescue Barbara and get out before the next train came.  
  
Helena cautiously pushed the service door opened and after securing the area, motioned for Dinah to follow. The room had not been guarded, which really hadn't surprised Helena. Workers used this station all of the time. It would be foolish for the Joker to post a man up here.  
  
"Spread out and look for any signs of an opening." Helena instructed Dinah as she began to scan the room.  
  
"What am I looking for?"  
  
"A weak spot in the wall, a.."  
  
"How about a huge hole covered by a storage shelf?" Dinah interrupted Helena as she examined a storage shelf on the far wall. She carefully pushed it out of the way to reveal a gaping hole in the wall where the shelving unit had once been. Dinah looked down into the darkness. "It looks like there's a ladder leading down." She looked up smiling.  
  
"Nice work, kid." Helena said as she moved towards the hole. She stepped into the hole and started down the rungs. "Follow me and stay close. We don't know what we'll find down here." Helena whispered as she made her way down the ladder.  
  
"Hopefully Barbara." Dinah whispered back, excitement in her voice.  
  
"Shh." Helena shushed Dinah, although she could barely keep from smiling herself. After days of agonizing chaos, Helena could finally see the light at the end of the tunnel. They were so close to finding Barbara and maybe then their nightmare would finally end.  
  
Helena reached the bottom of the ladder and looked around. It was completely dark wherever they were. She pulled a tiny penlight from her pocket and pushed the button. Though the pen was small, it produced enough light to make out their surroundings.  
  
"It looks like we're in a lobby of an office building," Dinah said as she jumped off the ladder and stumbled into Helena.  
  
Helena gave her a dirty look. "Sorry," Dinah whispered as she surveyed the room.  
  
Helena put her fingers to her ear. "Alfred, how far are we away from Barbara?" she asked.  
  
Since Barbara was gone and Helena needed Dinah to help rescue her, Alfred had volunteered to watch the Delphi and guide them through the underground using the maps Barbara had provided.  
  
"Follow that first right hallway past the receptionist desk, Miss Helena. The hallway then takes a sharp left. It looks like Miss Barbara's signal is coming from a room at the end." Alfred said, watching the girl's signals on the map in front of them. Dinah had set up their comms so that Alfred could track them in correlation with Barbara's signal. Helena had been impressed by how much Dinah had learned from Barbara in the past few months. She was becoming quite the Oracle's protégé.  
  
Dinah followed Helena as she moved down the right hallway and cautiously made the left turn at the end. "Don't you find it a little odd that no one is here guarding the place? I mean, this place is totally dead."  
  
Helena nodded as she kept walking. "You're right. It's almost too quiet, but my spider sense isn't tingling yet. Maybe they're just all out to lunch."  
  
Dinah rolled her eyes at the likelihood of that being the case. Whatever was going on, she didn't like it. Something about this just wasn't right. It all just seemed too easy to be true.  
  
Helena stopped dead in her tracks as Dinah plowed into her back. "Oww!" Dinah exclaimed a little too loudly as she backed up and rubbed her arm. "Why the heck did you stop?"  
  
"End of the road." Helena whispered back.  
  
Dinah looked past Helena. Helena was right; the hallway ended and in front of them was a single steel door. "You think this is it?"  
  
Helena surveyed the door. "Well, none of the other doors were made out of steel, so I'm guessing that would make it the most likely choice." Helena reached out the grab the doorknob, but Dinah grabbed her hand.  
  
"No!"  
  
"What?" Helena asked annoyed.  
  
"Well, it could be a trap." There was a tinge of fear in Dinah's voice. Helena guessed that wasn't Dinah's real concern.  
  
"Well, we'll just have to take our chance." Helena reached for the door again, but Dinah once again grabbed her hand.  
  
"What is it now?"  
  
"Hel, I'm scared. What if we find something we don't want to find? What if she's.she's.." Dinah trailed off, not being able to finish her sentence.  
  
Helena squeezed her partner's hand. "She's not." Though she wasn't the resident telepath of the group, she knew what Dinah had been thinking. She had the same thoughts running through her own mind, but she refused to believe them. They didn't come this far for it all to be in vain. Barbara was on the other side of that door, alive and breathing. She didn't know how she knew, but she knew it.  
  
Before Dinah could stop her once again, Helena grabbed the door and opened it.  
  
"Barbara?" she whispered, fear now creeping into her own voice as she pushed back the door and silently gasped at the sight before her. 


	3. chapter 3

"Barbara?" The two girls exclaimed as they entered the door and froze.  
  
The site before them sent chills down their spines. Before them lay a broken and beaten Barbara. She lay slumped over, her back against the wall. Her face was covered in cuts and bruises and her clothes were dirty and torn.  
  
Dinah was the first to recover as she ran over to kneel beside her mentor, Helena cautiously following. Dinah's hand shook as she felt Barbara's neck for a pulse. Relief washed over her as she felt the soft thumping beneath her fingers.  
  
Barbara slowly opened her eyes. "Dinah?" she whispered hoarsely.  
  
"Yeah, it's me," Dinah whispered as she grabbed Barbara in a tight bear hug.  
  
Barbara winced as her ribs screamed in agony. Dinah pulled back.  
  
"I'm sorry," she said, tears brimming in her eyes. "I'm just so happy to see you. I was a-afraid I'd never see you again." Tears started to roll down her checks.  
  
"Come here," Barbara said as she reached up and pulled Dinah into her embrace. "Shh. It's okay. I'm here."  
  
Barbara closed her eyes and rested her head on Dinah's as she tried to comfort the girl she had come to see as her daughter. She held her until her sobs grew quieter. With Dinah still clinging to her shoulder, Barbara turned her attention to Helena. The older girl had been crouching silently at Barbara's side since the two girls had entered the room.  
  
* * *  
  
Helena was in utter shock. It turned her stomach to see what the Joker had done to her mentor. She silently examined the woman's injuries as Barbara comforted Dinah. There was a dark stain on her clothes where she had possibly been stabbed in the stomach. The right hand she now had resting on Dinah's back was swollen and most likely broken. Her face was a mass of tiny cuts and bruises, the worst being on her left check which was dark and swollen. She had a deep gash above her left eye that would need stitches. Helena noticed that Barbara's clothes were drenched in sweat. She was probably running a fever from infection. It was more than Helena could take.  
  
:I'll kill him,: she thought. :I'll kill that maniac for what he's done.:  
  
* * *  
  
Helena was so engrossed in thought that she hadn't noticed Barbara staring at her. With tears forming in her eyes, she reached out her hand to examine the gash on Barbara's head. Barbara caught Helena's hand firmly with her good hand. "It's okay, Helena. It's not as bad as it looks" she said softly, trying to sound stronger than she actually felt.  
  
Helena erupted into tears. "I swear I will kill him," she whispered as she clung to Barbara's other shoulder.  
  
Barbara fought back tears as she hugged both of her girls. She, too, had wondered if she would ever see them again and the site of both of them there in front of her was more than she could stand. All three of them clung to each other for several minutes. Helena was the first to pull away.  
  
"We need to get you out of here," she said as Dinah pulled back too. "Reese is waiting outside with a SWAT team. They weren't to come in until we knew you were safe."  
  
Barbara nodded. "Okay. But Helena, how are we supposed to get out of here. I can't walk."  
  
This thought had occurred to Helena earlier. She had packed Barbara's transponder with their gear, but in her present condition, Helena didn't want her using it. She wasn't even sure Barbara would be able to walk even if she was able to use it.  
  
"I'll carry you out." Helena decided matter-of-factly. Barbara started to protest, but it fell upon deaf ears. "It's not that far and it's the only way. I've made up my mind."  
  
Barbara, impressed by Helena's sudden take charge attitude, turned to Dinah who shrugged. "Don't try to argue with her when she's made up her mind. Believe me, you won't win."  
  
* * *  
  
A few minutes later, the three were walking through the condemned hallways. They eventually made it back to the foyer when they heard a voice up ahead. "Well, well, well. What do we have here?"  
  
Helena and Dinah froze in place. At the base of the stairs, blocking their exit, stood the Joker. Helena leaned down and sat Barbara on the floor next to the reception desk that she hoped would provide some shelter if things got messy. She turned to Dinah. "Stay here with her." She looked towards the Joker. "I'll be right back."  
  
Helena began to march toward the Joker, but Barbara grabbed her hand. "Helena, don't."  
  
Helena stopped and kneeled down in front of Barbara, still clutching her mentor's hand. "No, Barbara. This ends now."  
  
Barbara nodded slowly, "Just be careful. He'll try to play off your emotions. Don't let him get to you."  
  
Helena nodded and turned towards the Joker.  
  
He laughed hysterically. "You bat people are all so predictable. Have to do the noble thing. Have to save your mentor even if it means walking into a trap. Not too bright on your part." As he cackled madly, twelve burly men appeared at his side. Each carried some sort of weapon, ranging from baseball bats to machetes.  
  
Helena smiled. "Laugh while you can Joker. The curtains closed, your final act is up. Oh and by the way, I'm not a bat-person."  
  
The Joker stopped laughing and an evil grin appeared on his face. "Oh the grand finale is just beginning," he said, his voice lowering a bit. He turned to his men. "Kill her," he said, stepping back, allowing the men to rush Huntress at full force. 


End file.
